Variable-speed gearing.



E. G. 10HANSON. VARIABLE SPEED GEARING,

APPVLICATIDN FILED GCT. l. 1917.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL G'. JOHANSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO TI-IE N ORLINGROTARY ENGINE COMPANY, OF PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA, A CORPORATION OF SOUTHDAKOTA.

VARIABLE-SPEED GEARING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

Application filed October 1, 1917. Serial No. 194,120.

To all Iwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL Gr. JoHANsoN, a subject of the King of Sweden,residing at Chicago, in fthe county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Variable-Speed Gearings,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to variable speed.

transmission and has particular reference to shiftable driving shaftconnections with a series `of gears and the application thereof to adriving and a driven cone of intermeshing gears.

The objects of the invention are to simplify, make more durable,facilitate repairs and reduce cost of construction of this type ofVgearing to provide a variable speed cone-gear in which the gears may bemultiplied without thereby lessening the convenience of shifting fromone gear to another or the strength of the construction; to provide adriving-shaft shift or keypinion that is always firmly keyed to thedrivin@r shaft, and which may be placed in mesh with any of thedifferent-gears without the use of intervening bearing sleeves and thelike; to obviate the weaknesses and complications of constructioninvolved in hollow or slotted gear-driving shafts; to do away with theweakness of the sliding key or spline; to provide a construction whichmay be entirely incased and submerged in oil, if desired; to provide akey-gear shaft that may be quickly inserted or removed with its pinionwithout disturbing the gears, and to provide such other advantages ofconstruction as will appear from the hereinafter detailed description ofmy invention.

With the above-named objects in view my invention consists in the novelconstruction, combination andarrangement of parts, all as hereinafterdescribed in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is an elevation of a cone gear mechanismembodying my invention.

Fig; 2 is a section taken substantially on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Y

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a reduced perspective view of the driving shaft with itsclutch member secured thereto.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the driving gears allsubstantially identical except in size.

In the several views 2 represents a solid driving shaft with akey-pinion, gear-teeth, or clutch member', 3 keyed, shrunk or otherwisefirmly secured thereto. -The shaft 2 has a squared end 4 which engagesfor longitudinal movement a rectangular opening 5 in a shaft rotatingmember, motor coupling or motor element 6. In the latter is a bore 7 forthe round portion 2 of the shaft and in which said portion 2 islongitudinally movable. The member 6 is rotatably mounted inabearing-hub8 on a bearing plate, standard, or

upright 9. On another and similar frameV member 10 is a hub 11 on whichis a flange 12 to which is secured by means of'screws 13, 13, a bearingsleeve, collar or bushing 14 that is held within the hub 1v1 and has aflange 15 secured to the flange 12 by means of said screws 13, andserves as a bearing for the shaft 2. The bearing 14 may also serve as astufling box gland by inserting a packing 16 between it, and the frameportion 10 and the hub 11, as shown. In the present connection thestutling box feature is merely illustrative of the manner of confiningoil to the hereinafter described gears if an oil cas ing is substitutedfor the bearing standards 9 and 10. The latter rest 0n a Ibase plate 17and are secured thereto by means of angle irons 18 and 19 fastened tothe base plate 17 by screws 20 or otherwise. Between the members 9 and10 are a series of gear-bearing members 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and28 which are substantially like the members 9 and 10, a side view of oneof which is shown in Fig. 2, except as to height, terminating at thecurved dotted line 29 in Fig. 2 and as shown in Fig.' 3. In the upperend of each of the upright bearing plates 21 to 28 is an opening 30 intowhich is fitted a hub 31 (shown in perspective in Fig. 5) on each of aseries of gear wheels 32 to 39 inclusive. The latter are in mesh with asolid cone of gears 40 with rings of gear teeth 41 to 48 inclusive. Thecone of gears 40 is keyed to a shaft 49 having its bearings in openingsfor the shaft 49 in the upper ends of the shaft supports 9 and 10. Onone end of the shaft 49 is secured a collar 50 and on the other end iskeyed a pulley 51 from which, as well as from any one of the gears 41 to48, power may be transmitted from the cone ofgears 40.

The member 6 is shown provided with a coupling disk 52 on which arelaterally projecting studs 53 and 5d to which may be attached in anysuitable manner a motor, or the disk may represent the motor itself.Onfthe periphery of the disk is also a circle of 'teeth which maybeconveniently placed in mesh with a motor gear wheel. These details may,however, 'be varied in numerous ways without departing from the spiritof my invention, the member 6 being, essentially, representative of thedriving shaft power.

rlhe 'motor element, or shaft rotating member 6, is held againstlongitudinal movementon the hub 8 by means of a key-screw 56 which isthreaded into said hub and engages a slot 57 formed on the periphery ofa reduced portion 58 on the member 6, which reducedportion is within thehub 8.

On each 4of `the gear wheels 32 to 39 is an internalring of clutch teeth58 with `either of'- which the key-pinion 3 may be enga-ged 'by movingthe shaft 2 along its axis on its ,bearings V58 and 59, the latter beingin the gland 14. Such longitudinal movement is effected with the aid ofany suitable device, such as a lever 60 fulcrumed at 61 on the basevplate 17 and pivoted 'to one end of a connecting' bar G2 the other endof ,which is pivoted at G3 t0 an elbow bracket 6a. The latter is pivotedon a screw that is fixed relative to the shaft 2 by threaded engagement66 or otherwise.

The upright bearing members 9, lO and 2l to 28 are clamped together atthe base plate 17 'by means of long bolts or headed rods 67 and 68 andinthe gear-spaces between said bearing members are washers or spacers 69which should be slightly thicker than the gear wheels to preventfriction between the latter and their supports.

In gear arrangements analogous to the present invention the ,weaknesseswhich prohibit their practical adoption are usually in the shaftconnections, either because of the weakness of the connecting key, orkeys, or the weakenings of the shafts made necessary to effect manyforms of connection. For the purpose of more clearly illustrating myinvention I have omitted the ball bearings that are obviously applicableto the constructionV shown. As the pinion 3, or its equivalent orsubstitute in any form of construction for the present purposes, is thepart that must sustain many times the wear and strain imposed `upon anyof the other gear wheels or parts, its strength and the strength of itssupport is of prime importance. The shaft -2 and its clutch member maybe withdrawn from the clutch teeth of the internally geared wheels ineither direction by simply removing the screw 56 in the one inst-ance orLeonesa the bearing or gland lt in the other. The squared end l and its'similar opening 'provide a joint between the shaft and its rotator Ystrength is not limited like couplings within the gears or on the shaft2. By simply removing the collar 50, gland 14 and the rods 67 and 68 thesimple parts composed of ithe7 wheels and their supports, together Vwiththe shaft and its pinion, may be quickly taken apart in case ofnecessity. Y Y

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secureby Let-ters Patentl. The combination Vwith a shaft, o-f supports fo-rsaid shaft, bearings for said shaft that are removably mounted in saidsup' ports, a series of driving gears which are arranged between saidsupports and are rotatable about the axis of said shaft, a bearingflange and an internal ring of clutch teeth on each of said drivinggears, a stationary `bearing lfor each of said bearing iianges on whicheach said' drivingy gear is supported independentlyrof its adjacentgears, a toothed clutch member keyed to said shaft, and means for movingsaid shaft longitudinally to Couple its toothed clutch member with anyof the rings of clutch teeth on 4said driving gears.

The combination with a ldriving shaft,

'of bearings therefor, a series of intermediate bearings between saidyfirst mentioned bearings, a wheel, having external driving teeth andinternal driven clutch teeth, mounted onV each of said intermediatebearings, a driving shaft movable longitudinally on the aXis of saidwheels, a clutch member on said shaft and movable therewith to engagethe wheel hub, spacers between `said bearings, and means common to all`of saidbearings .and spacers for clamping the same together as a unit.

3. The combination of a longitudinal, movable driving shaft .and aclutch member secured thereto removable. bearins for fthe shaft,supports for the bearings, a drivenk shaft, a cone of individual gearsthat are lrevoluble about. said driving shaft and each provided lwith aclutch ,portion tobe engaged by the clutch member on the `driving shaft,

a separate bearing for each individual gear supported free of thedriving shaft, and ra cone of relativelyfixed gears on said driven shaftand meshingywith said individual gears. Y 1

In testimony whereof I Vhave hereunto signed my name.y

EMIL e. Jonaivsov,V

Copies of this patent may be obtained `for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C."

